Agricultural appraisal fees are structured for larger land transactions — and on a small farmland loan, that cost structure simply does not fit. The FieldSmart Ag Land Evaluation gives community banks, credit unions, farm credit institutions, and agricultural loan servicers a properly scoped, affordable collateral solution without the overhead of a full appraisal engagement. Whether you are managing a single transaction or processing a high volume of small farm credit extensions across a regional portfolio, the per-loan cost reduction is material and consistent across every order.
Keeping costs down does not mean cutting analytical corners. The FieldSmart Ag Land Evaluation maintains a full scope of work on every engagement. Each report is supported by:
Waiting on a conventional agricultural appraisal means waiting on your deal. The FieldSmart Ag Land Evaluation is structured for speed — with turnaround that consistently outpaces a full appraisal by two weeks or more. Ordering is straightforward: reports can be placed through BoxwoodMeans.com or through integrated third-party lending platforms, and the completed report arrives in your inbox in a format that is ready to drop into your loan file. Rush processing is available when your timeline cannot accommodate a standard turn.
Boxwood Means builds its agricultural land evaluations entirely from within — senior analysts who bring over two decades of hands-on experience in farmland valuation and small farm credit collateral. No work is passed to outside brokers or sub-contracted field teams. That means every report reflects a consistent internal standard, with a named analyst behind the findings and available to answer questions directly. Lenders who have worked with outsourced models know the difference — and our clients tell us that direct accountability matters when a report needs to be explained to a credit committee or a regulator.
The FieldSmart Ag Land Evaluation is prepared in full conformance with the Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines (IAG) and satisfies FIRREA compliance requirements applicable to federally regulated lending institutions. It meets the same rigorous quality benchmarks maintained across all FieldSmart evaluation products — standards that hold up to examination scrutiny and satisfy the documentation expectations of farm credit compliance officers and bank regulators alike. The report is appropriate for loan origination, periodic collateral reassessment, annual credit review, and portfolio monitoring use cases.
GET STARTED TODAY Give your small farm borrowers a smarter path to financing — and give your institution a compliant, examination-ready collateral file without the cost or delay of a full appraisal. Reach out to request a sample report, get pricing information, or talk through whether the FieldSmart Agricultural Land Evaluation is the right tool for your next small farmland transaction.
The FieldSmart Agricultural Land Evaluation is a FIRREA-compliant, USPAP-aligned farmland collateral evaluation produced by Boxwood Means for small farm lending. It is designed for community banks, credit unions, farm credit institutions, and agricultural loan servicers that need a credible, examination-ready collateral opinion on small farmland transactions — without the cost or timeline of a full agricultural appraisal. Under the Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines (IAG), it qualifies as an evaluation in lieu of appraisal on eligible transactions at regulated lending institutions.
A conventional agricultural appraisal is a full USPAP-compliant appraisal engagement, typically requiring two to three weeks and carrying significantly higher fees. The FieldSmart Ag Land Evaluation is a scoped evaluation product — purpose-built for the small farm credit market — that delivers the core property intelligence and market value conclusion a lender needs, at a lower cost and faster turnaround, while remaining fully compliant with FIRREA requirements and the Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines. It is not a substitute for a full appraisal where one is required, but it is the appropriate and regulator-accepted alternative where the guidelines permit an evaluation.
The FieldSmart Agricultural Land Evaluation is appropriate for loan origination, annual credit review, loan renewal, and portfolio monitoring on small farmland loans where an evaluation in lieu of appraisal is permitted under applicable guidelines. It is commonly used by agricultural lenders to satisfy collateral documentation requirements on small farm credit extensions, where the transaction size and risk profile do not justify the expense of a full appraisal. It is not intended for transactions that require a full appraisal under FIRREA, OCC, FDIC, or NCUA regulations.